SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Kiyomi Burchill, 27, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant secretary at the Health and Human Services Agency. Burchill has been a policy consultant in the Office of Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg since 2008. She was a legislative aide for Senator Steinberg from 2007 to 2008, and a California Senate Fellow for Senator Steinberg from 2006 to 2007. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $95,808. Burchill is a Democrat.
Tom Gibson, 44, of Sacramento, has been appointed general counsel at the Department of Fish and Game. Gibson has been acting general counsel at the Department of Fish and Game since 2010 and was deputy general counsel from 2008 to 2010. He was a partner at Best Best and Krieger, LLP from 2005 to 2008 and an associate there from 2002 to 2005. From 1999 to 2002, he was an associate at Hyman Phelps and McNamara PC and from 1997 to 1999, he was an associate at Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann and Girard PC. Gibson received his Juris Doctor degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $131,172. Gibson is a Republican.
John Hanna, 60, of Orange, has been appointed general counsel at the Department of Corporations. Hanna has been a partner at Hanna and Scott since 2004. He was an attorney at Horton Barbaro and Reilly from 1980 to 2004. Hanna received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. Hanna is a Democrat.
Ja-Chin Audrey Lee, 33, of San Francisco, has been appointed technical advisor at the California Public Utilities Commission. She worked as an economist at the U.S. Department of Energy from 2005 to 2011. Lee was a research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government from 2009 to 2011. She received her doctorate in electrical engineering from Princeton University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $112,992. Lee is a Democrat.
Michael Liang, 58, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant deputy director of public affairs at the Department of General Services. Liang was the principal at Take 1 Media and worked as a freelance producer for NBC and ABC news from 2005 to 2011. From 1992 to 2005, he was a production manager for KCRA-TV in Sacramento and from 1990 to 1992, he was a coordinating producer at Kelly News and Entertainment. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $80,004. Liang is a Democrat.
Arsenio Mataka, 34, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant secretary of environmental justice at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Mataka has been directing attorney at the California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. since April 2011 after serving as a staff attorney there beginning in 2010. He was a consultant at Mataka Consulting from 2009 to 2010 and an American Bar Association diversity fellow in environmental law in the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $74,076. Mataka is a Democrat.
Luther “Bo” Nishimura, 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of legislation at the Department of General Services. Nishimura was a legislative coordinator and senior operations specialist at the Department of General Services from 2008 to 2011. He was a senior transportation planner for the California Department of Transportation from 2006 to 2008 after serving as a special assistant to the director from 2001 to 2005. Nishimura was a staff services manager for the California Department of Social Services from 2005 to 2006 and a governmental program analyst for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug programs from 1994 to 2001. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $82,776. Nishimura is a Democrat.
Hiren Patel, 42, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief counsel at the Department of Developmental Services. Patel has been a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice since 1999. He was a law clerk to chief judge David Russell at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California from 1997 to 1999 and an associate attorney at Haworth Bradshaw Stallknecht and Barber from 1996 to 1997. Patel received his Juris Doctor degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $132,012. Patel is a Democrat.
Debby Rogers, 52, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director at the Center for Health Care Quality at the Department of Public Health. Rogers has been vice president of quality and emergency services at the California Hospital Association since 2005. She was associate secretary for legislation at the California Health and Human Services Agency from 2004 to 2005, a policy consultant for the California State Senate from 2000 to 2004, and a policy consultant for the California State Assembly from 1995 to 2000. Rogers has been a registered nurse since 1985. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $132,000. Rogers is a Republican.
Richard Woonacott, 47, of Elk Grove, has been appointed legislative affairs director at the State and Consumer Services Agency. Woonacott served as deputy director for legislative and policy review at the Department of Consumer Affairs from 2010 to 2011. He was deputy director for legislative affairs and acting director of the security and law enforcement division at the California Lottery from 2008 to 2010. From 2007 to 2008, he was deputy director of legislative and public affairs and acting director for the Office of Problem Gambling in the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. Wonnacott was deputy chief of staff for Assemblymember Jim Beall from 2006 to 2007 and deputy chief of staff for Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn from 2003 to 2006. Woonacott was legislative director and grant program manager for the California Office of Traffic Safety from 1993 to 2003. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $109,200. Woonacott is registered decline-to-state.